JOB/GC/230  
 
20 May 2020  
(20-3738) Page: 1/2 
General Council    
 
APPOINTMENT OF THE N EXT DIRECTOR -GENERAL  
COMMUNICATION FROM T HE CHAIRMAN  OF THE GENERAL COUN CIL  
TO MEMBERS  
 
 
 
 20 May 2020  
 
 
Dear Colleague,  
 
 
I refer to the announcement made by the Director -General on 14 May 2020 that he will step 
down on 31 August 2020.  At the end of the Special General Council meeting held on 15 May 2020  
and in a communication to Members on 18 May 2020 , I indicated that I would immediately engage 
with Members with a view to initiating as soon as possible a process for th e appointment of a new 
Director -General, as set out in the Procedures for the Appointment of Directors -General adopted by 
the General Council in 2002 and contained in WT/L/509.   
 
As indicated in the additional  accompanying communication dated  today,  20 May 2020, I am 
hereby notifying all Members of the start of the appointment process as of 8 June  2020.   
 
In keeping with the Procedures, the General Council Chair shall be assisted in the appointment 
process by the Chairpersons of the Dispute Settlement Body  and the Trade Policy Review Body acting 
as facilitators. They will be  Ambassador Dacio Castillo  (Honduras ) and Ambassador Harald 
Aspelund  (Iceland) , respectively.  
 
I would also like to use this opportunity to  indicate some of the milestones  for the appointment 
process  as set out in the Procedures, and to clarify the f ollowing administrative details.  
 
 
1. Nominations and supporting information  
 
The appointment process will start on Monday 8 June 2020. In line with the Procedures, 
Members shall have one month after the start of the appointment process to nominate 
candidates .  i.e. from 8 June to 8 July 2020 . All nominations and supporting information 
must be addressed to me , as Chairman of the General Co uncil, and must be received  by 8 
July 2020 at cob in Geneva . In line with the Procedures, the nominations and supporting 
information will be distributed to Members as they are received.   
 
Nominations and supporting information should be addressed to: 
 
 Chairman of the General Council  
 World Trade Organiza tion - WTO  
 154 Rue de Lausanne  
 1211 Geneva 2  
 Switzerland  
  
In order to ensure that they are properly received and distributed, nominati ons and 
supporting information sh ould be submitted as above  only by express mail, registered mail 
or courier service (Swiss Post, DHL , FedEx, UPS, TNT, DPD etc.).  JOB/GC/230  
 
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It would be appreciated if the nomination and supporting information are also  sent to the 
following dedicated email address  (in addition to the mailin g address provided above):  
 
dgcandidates2020@wto.org  
 
Immediately after the close of the nomination period, I shall, as required, communicate to 
Members a consolidated list of the candidatures received.  
 
2. Meeting with candidates  
 
As early as possible after the close of the one -month nomination process, candidates will be 
invited to meet with Members at a formal General Council meeting, at which they will be 
invited to make a brief presentation, including th eir vision for the WTO, to be followed by a 
question -and-answer period. A formal meeting of the General Council for this purpose will 
be convened by means of an airgram in due course .    
 
3. Consultation Process  
 
In keeping with  paragraph  23 of the Procedures in WT/L/509 , I am available to consult with 
Members with a view to establishing expedited deadlines as necessary for this process and 
will continue to  engage with Members on such deadlines in the coming days.  
 
 
In the  current excepti onal circumstances, I trust that I can count on your cooperation  and 
constructive engagement  of all Members  so that this  process  can lead to the appointment of a new 
Director -General as soon as possible.  
 
I also recall that, in line with paragraph  1 of th e Procedures,  the process has to be  guided by 
the best interests of the Organization, respect for the dignity of the candidates and the Members 
nominating them, and by full transparency and inclusiveness at all stages .   
 
  
 
 
Yours sincerely,  
 
 
 
 
         David Walker  
        Chairman, General Council